A hot pink wind turbine turned above one paddock at Shell Eco-marathon Europe this year; it was the stall of the team from Inholland University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands. The students, all studying aeronautical engineering, have designed a vehicle with a detachable rear end that can be changed in few minutes and converted…

Kağan Meijer of Celal Bayar University in Turkey explains the changes made to the vehicle to conform to new rules for Shell Eco-marathon Europe 2013. Celal Bayar’s car last year, Tarzan, had large over-hanging solar panels, but this year, the solar panels needed to be smaller to be integrated into the body of the vehicle.…

Hungary’s Kecskemét College had an amazing second-place run in last year’s Shell Eco-marathon Europe, and the team was determined to kick up its performance this year. The gasoline-powered engine is now 45 cubic centimeters, about a third larger than last year’s engine for the car, nicknamed Megameter, which achieved a performance of 2,695.5 kilometers per liter…

What if you could pack and assemble a car like Ikea furniture? Students at Aston University aimed for lightweight portability and sustainability in the wood car they designed and built for Shell Eco-marathon Europe. Their project manager, Christian Mclening, explains the innovative plywood composite chassis and “flat-pack” design in the video below. In addition to…

Dana and Lorena Ruisi of Universidad Cardenal Herrera’s Idea Ceu Team from Spain explain that their team took inspiration from nature for the shape of their car entered in Shell Eco-marathon Europe. Their vehicle is shaped like a rain drop. They believe falling rain is one of nature’s most efficient means of movement, and they…

As a college athlete (track and field), I understand the desire to put on a good performance while on one’s home turf. So when I was talking to high school students from Team Ubbo Emmius from the Netherlands at Shell Eco-marathon Europe, I expected them to feel the same way about “home field advantage” giving…

More than 3,000 high school and college students from 24 countries are gathered in the port city of Rotterdam, the Netherlands, this weekend for a race for fuel efficiency. More than 180 cars are entered in Shell Eco-marathon Europe 2013, where students design and build super-low-mileage vehicles, and then prove them on a 10-mile (16.3-kilometer)…

Often times in the heat of competition, you lose sight of the things that matter. Saving the world is a serious issue, and energy conservation is a subject that should be tackled aggressively. But when you’re competing with others in something like Shell Eco-marathon, it is always important to step back and have some fun.…

At Shell Eco-marathon, many things go into the inspiration behind the design of the cars. One of the most popular things that influence car designers is the culture from their country. I was able to speak with members of the Ubicar 13 crew from Portugal’s Universidad de Corilha and talk about the pieces that made…

The first official test sessions has now been completed, and DTU Roadrunners have used the opportunity to thoroughly test the car under racing conditions. (See previous post: DTU Roadrunners 2013: Focusing On Evolution Instead of Revolution) The test session was carried out in poor weather with a wet track and a fair drizzle. The practice…